Review: In harrowing ‘No Other Land,’ journalists unite to chronicle a community under siege

Futility is one of the hardest things for cinema to convey. Storytelling is inherently geared to forward momentum and obstacles that can potentially be overcome. The ending doesn’t have to be a happy one, but viewers expect some sense of an arc, the feeling that where we started is different from where we ultimately landed. So many documentaries, hoping to cater to a commercial audience, unconsciously or not operate in a traditional three-act structure, wanting to leave us with a feeling of closure. Even real life needs to be tidied up at the movies.

Standing in solemn opposition to such considerations, “No Other Land” examines an unconscionable and ongoing atrocity and simply lets it play out in all its unresolved anguish. Few recent documentaries seem so committed to insisting viewers sit in their despair without any glimmer of release or catharsis. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has raged for generations — who could possibly expect a 95-minute film, even one as rivetingly assembled as this one, to provide a solution?

Spanning 4 years and concluding around October 2023, “No Other Land” takes us to Masafer Yatta, a mountainous West Bank community consisting of 20 small villages. Basel Adra, one of the documentary’s two principal subjects, has spent his entire life in Masafer Yatta, growing up with friends and family, and resisting Israel’s occupation of their land. We see low-res videos of him as a child, already familiar with the clashes between Palestinian residents and armed Israeli soldiers.

Now in his late 20s, he continues that fight as a lawyer, journalist and filmmaker. Early on in “No Other Land,” he meets Yuval Abraham, an Israeli filmmaker and reporter who wants to chronicle the forced evictions that are occurring in Masafer Yatta, where buildings and homes are being destroyed to make way for an Israeli military training ground. These villages have existed since the 19th century, but Israel wants them eradicated, sending in troops to stop anyone who attempts to slow that effort.

Awards

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Adra and Abraham, who are about the same age, serve as two of the movie’s four directors, alongside Israeli filmmaker Rachel Szor and Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal. (All four are also credited as editors.) Both in front of and behind the camera, “No Other Land” is a work of cooperation between people whose countries’ war has divided them. Adra and his neighbors initially have misgivings about opening up to Abraham, an outsider, but eventually a bond develops as we grasp the magnitude of this erasure of Palestinian villages.

Just don’t expect feel-good uplift as these two men join forces to document the cruelty. Instead, there is only frustration and fear. We see frightening images of bulldozers on the horizon, preparing to descend on communities like vultures. There are angry confrontations between residents and Abraham, who is scapegoated because of his nation’s seizing of their land. And throughout, a tension exists between Adra and Abraham: They both want to end this mass expulsion, but, as Adra points out, Abraham can travel freely across the region whereas Palestinians like himself are not permitted to leave the West Bank. They may be united in their mission, but their situations are vastly different.

“No Other Land” superbly compresses four years into a series of heartaches that slowly escalate in severity. The filmmakers’ cameras confront the Israelis assigned to clear out the area, the soldiers’ eyes often hidden behind sunglasses. Structures are demolished, their occupants forced to live in nearby caves. The usual clichés apply: After Israeli crews rip through Masafer Yatta, the area looks like a war zone, like a bomb went off, like a tornado touched down and leveled the place. No one is coming to save the residents.

Adra hopes in vain that the mainstream media will report on these indignities, then has a visiting journalist talk grimly about once doing such a piece: People “paid attention to that for 10 minutes.” Families in Masafer Yatta doggedly rebuild their homes and then Israel comes back and tears them down again. Eventually, the soldiers are accompanied by antagonistic settlers looking to impose their will through violence. Resistance can only take the powerless so far.

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By personalizing Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, the filmmakers tell a story of two likable, passionate activists. Mostly sobering, “No Other Land” sometimes gives us glimpses of their friendship as they hang out and reflect on the absurdity of their lives. Despite the relentlessness of their well-armed adversary, they show no signs of losing their resolve. (Among other things, the documentary poignantly captures the bountiful confidence and optimism of young people dedicated to a cause.) But one wonders when reality will simply become too crushing. “No Other Land” bears witness to some harrowing physical altercations — culminating in a scene of a man being shot in the stomach — as the filmmakers disabuse viewers of any illusions they might have that this conflict will resolve itself.

“If we keep silent,” Adra warns, “they’re just going to do it,” referring to Israel’s ongoing mass expulsion. The worry, of course, is that even raising his voice might not be enough.

Perhaps you have heard that “No Other Land,” which is nominated for documentary feature at next month’s Oscars, has had a difficult time securing distribution in the U.S. Most observers, including the filmmakers, have attributed that to concerns about the movie’s criticism of the Israeli occupation — a volatile situation made even more explosive after Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023, which led to Israel’s pummeling of Gaza, leading to the death of more than 46,000 Palestinians. Pointedly, “No Other Land” concludes just after that Hamas attack, the terrible repercussions reverberating in Masafer Yatta and so many other communities.

“No Other Land’s” sense of grim futility is very much the point — it’s what the strong count on in order to suppress those who oppose them. Anyone who sees this devastating film may share in that sense of hopelessness. But we can no longer say we had no idea what was going on. “Somebody watches something, they’re touched,” Abraham says of their documentary. “And then?” he continues, trailing off. Only the audience can answer that question.